Belgian police found a suicide note they think was written by one of the Brussels attacks suspects

A photo from CCTV cameras inside Zaventem Airport shows suspects involved in the attacks.
Belgian Federal Police
A Belgian prosecutor said Wednesday that the police discovered a suicide note on a laptop left in a garbage can that they believed was written by one of the suspected Brussels bombers.

Belgian national Ibrahim el Bakraoui, a suspect in the bombings who died in Tuesday's terrorist attacks, apparently wrote in French that he was in "a bad situation" and that if he did not act immediately, he would end up in a prison cell "like him."

The note may allude to the arrest of Saleh Abdeslam, a suspect in November's Paris attacks who was found and detained in Brussels last week after four months of evading capture. Abdeslam is believed to have played a role in organizing and planning the Brussels attacks before his arrest, authorities have said.

"The note would confirm the speculation that the attackers moved up the timetable because Abdeslam was arrested," Will McCants, author of "The ISIS Apocalypse," told Business Insider by email on Wednesday.

The police say they found 15 kilograms of explosives of the TATP type, 150 liters of acetone, detonators full of nails and screws, plastic bags, ventilators, and several other bomb-making materials during their raids on Tuesday.

At least 31 people were reported killed and dozens more wounded after explosions ripped through Zaventem Airport and the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels on Tuesday morning.

Two of the Brussels bombers have been identified as brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui.
Belgian police
Ibrahim El Bakraoui and his brother, Khalid, were named as suicide bombers in the attacks by the Belgian police on Wednesday morning. Ibrahim is thought to have detonated his explosives at the airport, killing at least 10 people, while his brother is thought to be responsible for the suicide attack at the metro station that killed 20 others.

The police have not yet identified their third suspect — the man wearing a light jacket in a photo released by Belgian authorities — but say he is still on the run. His bag apparently contained the largest of the three explosives that were brought to the airport. That explosive did not go off with the other two and was detonated in a controlled explosion by the police.

Reports emerged earlier Wednesday morning that the man in the hat had been captured alive, but those reports turned out to be inaccurate. A massive manhunt is underway for that suspect and several other people who are possibly linked to the attacks, prosecutors said.

Correction: A photo caption in this post misidentified one of the suspects. Police have not identified the men on the far left and far right of the top photo.